Dune

Winner of a D&AD Design awards 2016 Wood Pencil

‘No more terrible disaster could befall
your people than for them to fall into
the hands of a Hero’

Arrakis, or Dune, is a planet of nothingness – its torched
wastelands are home to a fierce nomadic people, and under
the endless deserts stalk gargantuan sandworms the size of
starships. It is a place where water is sacred – ‘a substance
more precious than all others’ – where to shed a tear is the
most taboo of all sacrifices. And yet the planet is also
humanity’s sole source of ‘spice’, the mysterious, addictive
substance that underpins the workings of the galaxy-wide
Padishah Empire. To control Arrakis is to control all.
And it is across its vast expanses and in its arid caves that
Frank Herbert’s epic adventure of political subterfuge
and messianic deliverance is played out, a story that has
become the best-selling science-fiction novel of all time,
and is considered by many to be the genre's greatest work.

Original appendices included as follows, including the ‘Terminology of the Imperium:

Appendix I

The Ecology of Dune

Appendix II

The Religion of Dune

Appendix III

Report on Bene Gesserit Motives and Purposes

Appendix IV

The Almanak en-Ashraf

A science-fiction phenomenon

The far-future universe created by Herbert is nothing
short of a phenomenon. After the novel’s publication in
1965, it won both the Hugo and Nebula awards, going
on to sell over 12 million copies, and spawning five
sequels, as well as multiple board games, computer
games, television series and feature films. It is a universe
of ‘traps within traps’, of human computers, secretive
witch-cults and fanatic warriors, all with their own
intricate histories and intentions. Humanity has
resorted to a delicately balanced feudal system of
governance, each aristocratic family struggling for
survival, competing for control of a decadent empire.
However, despite the grand scale of Herbert’s fully
formed universe, at its heart Dune is the story of a
single boy, Paul Atreides, who finds himself caught in
the web of a myth, centuries in the making. Is he the
fabled Kwisatz Haderach, able to span time – ‘who can
be many places at once’? Betrayed and exiled into the
waterless deserts of Arrakis, his destiny will not only be
fulfilled, but the future of humankind decided, and
from the dunes will arise a saviour – Muad’Dib – both
terrible and beautiful in his absolute power.

In the construction of Dune Herbert drew on a range of
influences, both literary and scientific, from the origin
stories of the Abrahamic desert religions and
T. E. Lawrence’s Bedouin desert revolt to cutting-edge
terraforming techniques and the burgeoning
environmentalist movement. For this edition, Pulitzer
Prize-winning critic Michael Dirda has contributed a
new introduction, examining both the origins of
Herbert’s unlikely success and the hidden depths of his
‘grand operatic vision’. On the surface it is a classic
adventure story – a boy coming of age to reclaim his
birthright – but soon Herbert strikes a darker vein,
exploring the terrors of prescribed destiny and the
problematic notion of hero-making. As the chosen
‘one’ emerges, we discover his role has little to do with
goodness; the quakes of fanatical jihad – like the desert’s
giant sandworms – rumble under the surface, waiting to
swallow the galaxy one planet at a time. It is a compelling
dissection of literature’s, and humanity’s, mania with the
godlike ‘hero’. As Paul’s friends become worshippers and
his family become idols, the thin line between god,
liberator and oppressor is increasingly indistinct.

‘Dune seems to me unique among SF novels in the depth of
characterisation and the extraordinary detail of the world it creates.
I know nothing comparable to it except The Lord of the Rings ’ARTHUR C. CLARKE

'As he emerged from the shadows, his figure took on dimension—
grossly and immensely fat'

'It came from the southeast, a distant hissing, a sand-whisper'

Illustrated by award-winning artist Sam Weber

‘Congratulations to Sam and The Folio Society on creating a stunning, evocative new take on one of science fiction’s greatest novels’Tor.com

The meticulously constructed characters and ecology of Dune have become enshrined in science-fiction
folklore, from the grotesque, bloated mass of the
evil Baron Harkonnen to the towering sandworms,
breaching the mountainous dunes. This much
anticipated edition is illustrated by Sam Weber, whose
work also appears in the acclaimed Folio editions of
Fahrenheit 451 and Lord of the Flies. His acutely detailed illustrations perfectly capture the intricacies of
Herbert’s vision, realising the faces and landscapes of Arrakis as never before. Also included is an
illuminating afterword by Brian Herbert, son of the
author, who has penned several best-selling novels
that expand the Dune universe. The pictorial slipcase
reproduces the undulating landscape of Arrakis,
while the binding design depicts Paul Atreides, his
body shrouded in a veil of stars, grain-like in their
multitude. His eyes are blocked in the unforgettable
‘blue within blue’, consumed by both the spice and
his ‘terrible purpose’.

‘If you’ve never read Dune, this handsome Folio Society edition, enhanced
by the haunting artwork of Sam Weber, will introduce you to one of modern
literature’s most exciting and unforgettable books’MICHAEL DIRDA

An extract from Michael Dirda’s introduction

Even now, half a century since it first appeared in 1965, Dune is certainly still ‘the one – it continues to top readers’ polls as the greatest science fiction novel of modern times. Many would say of all time. Before Star Wars, before A Game of Thrones, Frank Herbert brought to blazing life a feudalistic future of relentless political intrigue and insidious treachery, a grandly operatic vision – half-Wagner, half-spaghetti western – of a hero discovering his destiny. Characters include elite samurai-like warriors, sadistically decadent aristocrats, mystical revolutionaries, and, not least, those monster worms, which barrel along under the desert surface with the speed of a freight train, then suddenly emerge from the sand like Moby Dick rising from the depths.

Once settled on Arrakis, Duke Leto hopes to bring a more humane
government to this forlorn planet. He initially sends his master at arms,
Duncan Idaho, to form an alliance with the native Fremen, who, encased in
still suits that recycle all their body fluids, can survive in seemingly impossible
conditions. Others in Leto’s close circle of advisors include the
logical, Mr Spock-like ‘Mentat’ and assassin Thufir Hawat, the troubadour swordmaster
Gurney Halleck, and the sensitive Dr Wellington Yueh.
However, Baron Harkonnen – one of the most repulsive villains in literature –
has plans of his own for the Atreides household. To escape Harkonnen
traps-within-traps, Lady Jessica and Paul must eventually flee into the
desert, where they will gradually discover what her son calls his ‘terrible
purpose.’

Like David Lean’s film Lawrence of Arabia – the modern work of art Dune
most resembles – Herbert’s novel exhibits epic sweep while remaining, at
heart, the intensely moving story of a young man caught up in a myth. To
become a hero, let alone a messiah, is to cut oneself off from all others; to
watch friends sink into worshipers; to loose forces that may be impossible
to control; ultimately, after sowing the wind, to reap the whirlwind.

About the author

Frank Herbert was born in Tacoma, Washington, in 1920. He took his
first newspaper job at the age of nineteen. After serving in the US Navy as
a photographer, he studied briefly at the University of Washington. His
first science-fiction story, ‘Looking for Something,’ was published in the
pulp-science-fiction magazine Startling Stories (1952), and his first novel,
The Dragon in the Sea (1956) was serialized soon afterwards. He began work
on his most famous work, Dune, in 1959, which was serialized by Analog
magazine between 1963 and 1965. Finally published as a book, with modifications,
in 1965, Dune won the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel
and the Hugo Award in 1966, and Herbert went on to write five popular
sequels. Herbert wrote for a number of newspapers, including the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer, lectured at the University of Washington, and served as an
ecological consultant in Vietnam and Pakistan. He published many other
science-fiction novels, such as his WorShip series and the ConSentient novels,
but Dune, which was made into a film in 1984 (two years before Herbert’s
death), and into a television series in 2000, remains his most enduring work.

About the illustrator

Sam Weber was born in Alaska, and grew up in Deep River, Ontario,
Canada. After attending the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary,
Sam moved to New York to pursue illustration and attend graduate school
at The School of Visual Arts. His previous work for The Folio Society
includes Lord of the Flies (2009) and Fahrenheit 451 (2011). His illustrations
for Dune were painted in oil on board, with the black-and-white chapter
headings in ink and charcoal on paper.

About the introducer

Michael Dirda is a Pulitzer Prize-winning critic. After earning a PhD
in comparative literature from Cornell University, he joined the Washington
Post in 1978. He is the author of four collections of essays and literary
journalism: Readings (2000), Bound to Please (2005), Book by Book (2006), and
Classics for Pleasure (2007). His other works include a memoir, An Open Book
(2003), and the critical biographical study, On Conan Doyle (2011), which
received a 2012 Edgar Award. He is currently at work on a study of popular
fiction during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century.

About Brian Herbert

Brian Herbert was born in Seattle, Washington, in 1947, the elder son of
Frank Herbert. His biography of his father, Dreamer of Dune: The Biography
of Frank Herbert (2003), was a finalist for the Hugo Award. Keeping alive the
fantasy world which Herbert Snr created, he has collaborated with Kevin J.
Anderson on numerous prequels and sequels to the Dune novels, which have
regularly featured on the New York Times bestseller list. His other novels
include Sidney’s Comet (1983), Sudanna, Sudanna (1986), Man of Two Worlds
(1986, co-authored with Frank Herbert), The Race for God (1990), and Ocean
(2013), which he co-authored with his wife, Jan Herbert.

Reviews

"My first folio society purchase and it's absolutely stunning. I am so happy next on my to buy list is American god's "

Review by Bigbender009 on 20th Nov 2016

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Illustrations:

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5/5

"Absolutely stunning work! This is my first Folio edition and it sets a high bar against which to judge my future purchases. The artwork is superb and the whole package looks and feels wonderful in my ..." [read more]

"Absolutely stunning work! This is my first Folio edition and it sets a high bar against which to judge my future purchases. The artwork is superb and the whole package looks and feels wonderful in my hands.
Please create a masterpiece like this for more of the Dune series!" [hide full review]

Review by athelerane@ymail.com on 10th Aug 2016

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Illustrations:

Binding:

Rating:

5/5

"This edition of Dune was a Valentine's Day present from my husband... and what a perfect present it was. Stunning illustrations, a beautiful presentation in general. The cover art is mesmerizing; the ..." [read more]

"This edition of Dune was a Valentine's Day present from my husband... and what a perfect present it was. Stunning illustrations, a beautiful presentation in general. The cover art is mesmerizing; the book is a pleasure to hold. I have a first edition of Dune, but out of respect for its age, I will probably turn to this one whenever I read (and for an excuse to look at the illustrations again!). " [hide full review]